A senior Hadleigh policeman has played a leading role in a new policing tactic designed to to disrupt a range of criminality, including terrorism.

Inspector Matt Breeze, who is in charge of the Safer Neighbourhood Team in Hadleigh, which covers the Shotley peninsula, has set up Project Servator which was launched in Suffolk this week.

The approach, which sees police, businesses, community partners and the public working together, is already in use in various parts of the UK, including across the whole of London after it was pioneered by the City of London Police in 2014.

Project Servator sees the deployment of both highly visible and plain clothed police officers, supported by other resources such as dogs and firearms officers.

The deployments can happen anywhere and at any time and include 24 police officers specially-trained to spot the tell-tale signs that individuals may be planning or preparing to commit a crime.

Project Servatr being launched (Picture credit: Nub News)

Insp Breeze said: "This is about unpredictable deployment which can appear in any town at any time and will be moved around the county without warning.

"They will pop up anywhere for a short amount of time.

"While it has a foundation in terrorism it is about all kinds of crime detection and deterrence.

"The officers are trained to spot behavioural changes in people. That initiates a conversation and from that we can establish if that person is up to no good and they will be dealt with appropriately."

Although the project will be chiefly aimed at towns in the county, Insp Breeze has warned near dow ells that trained officers can also operate in rural areas such as the Shotley peninsula

The officers involved have to demonstrate a nationally-recognised level of competency before they can become operational.

The tactics have been developed and tested by security experts at the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) in partnership with the City of London Police.

The deployments, to be led by the three Kestrel teams are designed to make the environment as uncomfortable as possible for criminals to plan or carry out their activities and increase their fear of detection.

The 'Kestrel' or Neighbourhood Crime Proactive teams play an important role in supporting the force's capability to deploy into particular areas to target crime and engage with communities, supporting local policing priorities. 

Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passsmore said: "I really welcome the force's adoption of Project Servator as an addition to their operational policing tactics. Originally used as a counter-terrorism tactic, this proactive. partnership approach has been widened to support the fight against all criminal activity. I am sure it will work extremely successfully in Suffolk as it will greatly assist with improving public engagement and confidence.

"This clearly demonstrates the Constabulary is always looking to use new techniques to prevent and deter crime, keep homes and businesses safe and bring criminals to justice – something we all support across Suffolk."

Sophie Alexander-Parker Chief Executive of Ipswich Central said: "It's great to be collaborating in partnership with the police in terms of providing a presence on the streets to make sure we are keeping people safe and tackling criminality. We are all behind this and we are looking forward to our street rangers being involved as and when they need to be."

You have a vital role to play in helping the police by reporting anything that doesn't feel right, for example an unattended item or someone acting suspiciously. Report suspicious activity immediately to a police officer or member of staff or call police on 101. Suspicious activity is anything that seems out place, unusual or doesn't seem to fit in with day-to-day life. If it's an emergency, for example if you find a suspicious package, always call 999.

During a one hour patrol of Ipswich this morning (9 June) officers recorded three incidents of possession of suspected drugs, they collected 12 pieces of intelligence and located one missing person.

For updates on Project Servator search for #ProjectServator on Suffolk Police's local district Twitter accounts. Future Project Servator updates will also be located on this page.

**Servator is a Latin word which means 'watcher' or 'observer'.